My vehicle CAN tow 3500lbs.....SHOULD I?

I will soon pick up a new Jeep Rubicon and I would like to purchase a 2720SL. My main concern is the tow capacity of the Jeep, 3500 lbs. TM says the UVW of a 2721SL is around 2700, but most I have found are closer to 3200 (per the sticker inside them), plus propane and batteries. I live alone and don't travel heavy. Can anybody give me advice on this? Just because I CAN tow 3500 lbs, SHOULD I? I would love to learn from others' experiences.

This is a very controversial subject as there are no black and white rules. In addition, please provide more info such as where you plan to travel ( mtns or flat land) what OEM equip does the jeep include. In addition to a hitch, you need an aux transmission cooler ( not just the standard one), HD brakes, HD alternator. A major part of towing is stopping which many people do not consider. Also the Rubicon has a relatively short wheelbase which make the ride uncomfortable. A camping ready 2720 will weight more like 4000 lbs or more. Check the many posts in the towing section. I personally would not recommend doing it.

That's a NICE Jeep you're getting! I agree totally with what Rumbleweed said. You probably can tow it, but I wouldn't. The TM's have a pretty heavy tongue weight. Stopping in a panic situation could ruin your beautiful Jeep and TM. Not to mention your day!

Hi-

I weighted my 2720SL loaded for travel at a gravel/stone place and it is 3,700 pounds, I was looking at the Ford Escape at first which tows 3,500 pounds and I am glad I did not get it. I got the Explorer that pulls 5,000 pounds and very happy with it. We are in the mountains all the time in AZ. and the Escape would be shot by now. I am a little sorry we did not get the Expedition, pulls 9,000 pounds. Next time...Live and learn. Cover your vehicle for upgrades in the future, you may want a bigger TM down the road? Life changes every year

Dave.

You all have brought up some great points. I never thought about the transmission and brakes needing an upgrade. I live in Arizona, most of my camping would involve some mountain travel. I guess the 2720SL is not a good fit for my vehicle. I don't want a hybrid or any canvas, any recommendations?

[rvcycleguy]

As you say, the 2720 may not be a good fit for your Jeep. There are other options of trailers like A-liners which are hard sided. Rockwood also offers a hard sided popup. Since your inquiry is posted to a TM site, the opinions may be biased towards the TM being the optimal unit when considering lightweight hard sided pop-ups. Most specs will indicate the dry weight of the 2720 is slightly less than 3000lbs. We don't use dry weight for towing recommendations. It's not realistic. With the add ons for awning, batteries, air conditioner , full propane tanks, and camping gear even for the modest camper, your looking at well over 3500lbs. The tongue weight could be near 500lbs. If at some point your committed to a TM, it would be safer to look at a TV with tow capabilities of at least 5k lbs. This gives you a safe zone to pull to places you want to go rather than to places you can go... The comment from new campers is that they will stay close to home, flat roads, no mountains, etc but in reality, once you get out there and find interesting places to go and see, the country is begging for you to enjoy all it has to offer. Better safe than sorry. Good luck with your search.

Somewhere, and I do not recall where, there is a web page discussing things like wheel base of the TV, distance from RV rear axle to tow ball, etc.

Some rules of thumb are presented and there was, as I recall, a good description about why all of this matters.

For those of us with a large TV it does not matter much. But for smaller TVs it is worth considering.

In general:

1. the longer the TV wheelbase (front axle to rear axle distance) the better.

2. The shorter the distance of TV rear axle to tow ball the better (reduces the tail wagging the dog effect, reducing sway)

I do not have the link and I do not have the time to search for it.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by bighogmama

You all have brought up some great points. I never thought about the transmission and brakes needing an upgrade. I live in Arizona, most of my camping would involve some mountain travel. I guess the 2720SL is not a good fit for my vehicle. I don't want a hybrid or any canvas, any recommendations?

It's hard to draw hard conclusions from just the quick and easy-to-find statistics posted on the Internet. A 2720 will likely weigh more than 3500# when you go camping. Manufacturer tow ratings will be created in the context of high center of gravity towables like boats and full height travel trailers which have more wind resistance and sway problems than the folding TM's. Tow ratings are guidelines, and your mileage may vary.

One wrinkle I find for you is in the attached snapshot I took from the Jeep website which seems to suggest that you have a Class II hitch receiver which may not be rated for the heavy tongue weight of a TrailManor and the necessity of a Weight Distributing Hitch. We're used to seeing Class III receivers which are rated 500+# instead of the typical 350# on a Class II.

These are my own scale numbers for your perspective: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10652

While many of our members have been towing with 3500# rated tow vehicles, it is important to point out that different manufacturers have different ways they tell you to figure it. In other words, there's a pretty wide range of gross towing capacities among manufacturers who say their towing limit is 3500#. What does your owners' manual say about the Gross Combined Weight Rating for towing with your vehicle?

The problem with smaller tow vehicles is that you typically have to distribute your load with care to use your capacities because you're closer to the limits. The problem with larger tow vehicles is that about half of their additional gross weight capacity gets eaten up by their own additional curb weight, which has to be carried around not just while towing, but for the rest of the vehicle miles as well. Where you go is important, too, and many of our Western members need more power and carrying capacity because they carry heavier loads to go dry camping off road and at higher altitudes.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a brake "upgrade" since brakes tend not to vary within a specific model line. Power train combinations tend to affect tow ratings through durability factors, not safety issues. The wheelbase of your vehicle is shown on the Edmonds website as 116" (which is, for example, longer than the 2007 Ford Explorer which is known to be a good tow vehicle for a TrailManor).

I'm a big fan of searching this forum to get the experience and opinions of TrailManor owners who tow with similar tow vehicles.

Somewhere around here is a spreadsheet that shows actual weighed numbers.

I can tell you that my 2005 TM 2720, when fully loaded, weighs 3,380 on the axle. That is 120 pounds below the documented limit.

I did not weigh the tongue. Based on what others have reported for tongue weight, I estimate that my TM weighs 4,100 pounds.

To give you an idea of where that comes from

a/c ?
awning?
40 gallons of water (340)
6 gallons of water in water heater (50)
water to charge toilet (12)
second battery (?)
two full propane tanks
full set of pots and pans
service for 8
outdoor gas stove
2 portable gas grilles
8 camping chairs
2 outdoor tables
1 free standing awning
1 portable firepit
food for 5 for 4 days
generator

To stay near 3500 pounds:

1. always stay with full hookups and not carry any water
2. buy all food at destination
3. dine out, elimination pots, pans, plates, cups, etc.
4. Do not get the roof a/c
5. do not get the awning
6. take no propane
7. use only one battery, and make it a small one

Wonderful information (PopBeavers) thanks. Very nice. This will help new TM owners for sure.

Dave